SupportLocal Case Study
Project Overview: SupportLocal is an App with a
responsive website focused on providing a more efficient
connection between local, small businesses and consumers. You can
either use the platform to "buy" local goods or "sell" your business
products to a larger audience.
Date: December 2022 - February 2023
Net New Project - Completion for Certification Course
My Responsibilities:
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UX/UI Designer
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Business & concept creation
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Developing personas
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Paper and digital wireframing
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Low and high-fidelity prototyping
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Conducting usability studies
The Problem
Small businesses that mostly sell their products at in person markets/farmers markets face many weather issues throughout the year that hinder their ability to consistently rely on in person markets. On top of weather constraints, there are many other circumstances that can cause these markets to close, such as what happened in 2020-2021. These small businesses face large competitors and if they choose to partner with them to scale their business, their revenue can be cut in half. On the other hand, consumers have very busy schedules and are not always available to visit these markets when they are available typically for one day out of the week.
The Goal:
The goal of this project is to create a platform allowing small businesses and consumers to connect more efficiently. Users can help support some of their favorite businesses online or in person, while the store owners can use the platform to scale their businesses and sell their produce & products on a larger scale.
User Research:
I conducted interviews and developed empathy maps to break down and understand the two categories of users that I created the concept for, small business owners and consumers. By studying the users and their unique needs for a platform such as this, I was able to identify the two main groups and their desires for why they would use an app like this. First, small business owners have limitations on scaling their businesses, whether it is due to larger corporations wanting most of their profit or dealing with weather constraints, business owners need a more efficient way to scale their products to their customers. Second, there are many consumers that have busy schedules and are unable to always make it to a market offered once a week. This gives the opportunity for the community to support local businesses with or without a busy schedule.
User Interviews & Questions
To get a clear understanding for user pain points and goals, I visited my local farmers market and asked a clear set of questions to individuals who were market shoppers and owners of unique small businesses.
Business Owners:
1. How often does your business sell their products at local markets?
2. Do you sell products at one market or many nearby?
3. What limitations have you experienced while selling at local markets?
4. Are you looking at scaling your business? If so, have you experienced any challenges doing so?
5. Do you utilize any online platforms to grow your business?
6. Would you ever use a mobile app or website to sell your products?
Shoppers:
1. How often do you visit your local farmers market?
2. Why do you come to your local market?
3. Do you have any challenges that stop you from coming regularly?
4. Do you a favorite vendor that you visit?
5. Would you utilize an online platform to support local vendors & business owners?
6. Is there anything you think would make your experience better?
"With the heat in the Arizona summers stopping local farmers markets for a few months, it becomes twice as hard to support my local vendors." - Tim Wasilewski, Shopper at Old Town Farmers Market
"I have really been wanting to grow my business and reach more people. I looked into partnering with larger grocery stores but I just couldn't accept that they were asking for so much of the profit. When the pandemic hit, I wasn't able to come to the local markets and my business really suffered. I hope to find a way to scale my business without losing half of the profits." - Jennie, Local business owner at the Old Town Scottsdale Market
Meet our Personas!
Ideation & Low Fidelity Designs
Focus Group: Shoppers
I asked a group of 5 individuals who typically visit their local markets. I asked them the questions below to decide on the main screens for their user journey.
1. What main categories would you like to see on your homescreen?
2. What products do you typically buy at the local markets.
After collecting the user feedback, 4/5 users wanted it to be easy to find their favorite stores, local markets, and fresh produce.
Here are two wireframes showing the homepage & a company page. The idea of shopping from a local market helps users connect to businesses they usually prefer at a market near them. The company page gives an overview for users to gain further understanding into the company and their products. This would help users identify stores they typically go to, you can also browse by fresh produce or beauty.
This would fix the issue of having too many options causing users to feel overwhelmed. These categories were described as the most important features per the focus group.
During this part of the design process, I tried to create as
many design layouts as possible with a common focus on user centered design. I love doing many design activities such as the 8x8 and "How might we" activities. The pictures above are some of the results.
Low Fidelity Prototype
Here is the second prototype flow for the low-fidelity prototype. After conducting a usability study for the first flow, I received feedback that helped me iderate on the original designs.
I added additional screens to create a more efficient user experience by addressing some of the key findings. Please see the usability study below to see the main issues and themes.
Usability Study & Findings
Study Type
Unmoderated Usibility Study
The Usability study focused on one main user flow with two major objectives. First the participant must select an item and successfully checkout. Second, the user must select "sell", add a new product and return home.
Participants
Five Individuals Located in
Arizona.
Length
30-45 Minutes
Goal: Identify user painpoints and themes while they navigate through the main user flow.
Finding 1
Based on the theme that: Many users preferred being able to select a specific farmers market to shop from, an insight is: Users need an additional screen or filter to search stores by local markets nearby.
Finding 2
Finding 3
Finding 4
Based on the theme that: Most users were frustrated that certain cues were not labeled, an insight is: Users need labels and titles to increase accessibility and efficiency.
Based on the theme that: Many users wanted to see a preview of the item prior to selecting, an insight is: Users would benefit from a preview screen that shares an overview of the produce or product.
Based on the theme that: Some users were frustrated that there wasn’t a way to delete the items on their order, an insight is: Users need to be able to edit their order.
High Fidelity Designs, Mockups & Prototype
Below are some designs made from the POV of a consumer. You can first select your local market and find vendors near you. I went with green as the main color component due to it symbolizing health, generosity, and growth.
These two screens above show a few key changes due to user feedback. The first shows the main categories for the user to choose from and second is an additional screen added to further sector out the local markets. This creates an easier navigation.
Above are two additional screens made in response to user feedback. First is the preview screen where users can see a brief description and image of the item. The second has the addition of editing options. These address the problem of users not seeing enough information about a product and not having the ability to edit their cart.
Video of User Flow
Additional iterations: New labels, additional filter screen, preview page, edit options on checkout screen.
Accessibility Considerations
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I utilized headlines, different text size and tried to improve the contrast between text and the background colors
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Utilized landmarks to assist in overall navigation with assistive technologies.
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Created multiple starting points and options to reach the same goals.
Creating the Responsive Website
The goal of creating the sitemap was to identify the key elements and additions for strategic architecture. This structure should improve the overall navigation while minimizing the feeling of confusion.
There are two main functions of the product.
1. Buying / Shopping (Shop)
2. Selling / Store owners (Sell)
The two other categories were chosen so the user can easily access their account while the search option allows for the user to short cut to where they want to go.
For the responsive website design, I tried to make the design easy to use and more efficient for business owners to sell their products. We received feedback that most business owners would utilize the website while most consumers prefer the mobile app. Due to this, I wanted to focus on the flow to add a product.
Next Steps
Iterate on the overall “selling” experience and test this flow on its own to see if we are missing any key elements to this part of the flow.
Identify, ideate and test additional areas of improvement.
Increase the UI functionality and conduct follow up testing focused on the look of the design.